At this moment, Lin Fangling only felt her scalp tingle and the hairs on her body stand on end.
How could it be... How could this happen!
Her original plan was flawless—how could such a mishap occur?
Tonight, after deciding to use Chenchen to kill Lu Sheng, Lin Fangling happened to bump into Aunt Chen carrying an incense burner to Lu Sheng’s room.
Lin Fangling had been wondering how to administer the strong sedative to Lu Sheng, when the opportunity conveniently presented itself at her door.
So she directly transferred fifty thousand yuan to Aunt Chen, asking her to spike the incense burner with the drug.
She also instructed Aunt Chen that, regardless of whether the plan succeeded or failed, if anyone investigated, everything should be blamed on Shi Erya.
After all, the incense was sent by Shi Erya.
Lin Fangling hadn’t anticipated that Shi Muchuan would return home at precisely that time tonight, nor did she expect him to catch Shi Luochen stabbing someone with a knife in Lu Sheng’s room.
Not only did Shi Muchuan save Lu Sheng, but he got so furious that he insisted on investigating further and holding people accountable. Given the situation, Lin Fangling had no choice but to throw Shi Erya under the bus.
If Shi Erya had to blame someone, she should blame her own bad luck—who told her to send calming incense to Lu Sheng for no reason?
After all, there were only a few people in the household. Someone had to take the fall, didn’t they?
She was Chenchen’s mother after all—
What kind of mother would lure her own biological child into doing such a thing? Nobody would even think to suspect her.
Initially, seeing how Shi Erya failed to explain herself clearly, Lin Fangling had already relaxed completely.
She thought the matter would blow over just like that.
In a million years, she never would have expected Lu Sheng to suddenly pull out a smartphone that had been propped against the wall and say she had recorded everything that happened in the room tonight.
"Aunt, you truly care about Chenchen! The moment you heard I recorded the real culprit, look at how thrilled you got—your hands are trembling."
The sweet smile on the girl’s face and her tone of voice carried a faint hint of mockery.
Could it be... she already knows?
The girl’s slightly cool hand gripping hers sent a piercing chill, making Lin Fangling shudder involuntarily.
Almost out of instinct, she reached out recklessly to grab Lu Sheng’s phone—
However, Lu Sheng easily shifted the hand holding her phone, pulled back two steps, and looked at Lin Fangling with a gaze full of deep ridicule.
She raised her head, her tone indifferent and icy: "What’s the rush, Aunt? Are you so eager to see the footage of the real culprit on my phone?"
Lin Fangling’s lips trembled, unable to form a single coherent sentence.
If the footage truly recorded everything and Lu Sheng released it, she’d be destroyed!
But there was no way for her to destroy the phone.
The phone was firmly clutched in Lu Sheng’s hand, and because of her frantic attempt to seize it, everyone else’s attention had now turned toward her.
"Fangling, Shengsheng was already planning to release the video—what’s got you so flustered?" Shi Mingxiu frowned slightly.
Lin Fangling drew in a sharp breath, forcing a smile onto her face, attempting a last-ditch effort—
"Dad... Can we just let this matter go? After all, Lu Sheng didn’t get seriously hurt in the end, and Chenchen must’ve just wandered in while playing. We’re all family—it wouldn’t look good if we blew this out of proportion."
"I’m the victim here. Aunt, what gives you the right to speak for me and say it’s over?"
The girl’s gaze suddenly sharpened, icy and biting as she remarked, "Besides, Aunt, weren’t you just certain my younger aunt was trying to harm me? Now you’re suddenly all about preserving family ties and claiming Chenchen was just playing around?"
Lin Fangling’s chest heaved violently as sweat the size of beans beaded on her forehead.
Shi Yuwei observed all this, silently cursing "idiot" in her mind.
Standing at the back like a spectator, she crossed her arms—indeed, relying on trash could never bring down Lu Sheng.
At that moment, Lu Sheng opened her phone’s photo gallery.
Apart from the trembling Lin Fangling, Shi Mingxiu, Shi Erya, Shi Muchuan, and Shi Chengyun all moved closer to watch.
Lu Sheng clicked to play the latest video on her phone.
At first, the footage appeared normal.
The girl on the bed was clearly deeply asleep; the blanket covering her rose and fell rhythmically with her breathing. The bedroom door was tightly shut, and the room was cloaked in silence.
Lu Sheng extended her hand and dragged the progress bar forward on the screen.
Then, at the moment the wall clock struck 11:45—there was a faint creak as Lu Sheng’s bedroom door opened.
When the door opened, the first to enter was Chenchen, his expression blank. Entering Lu Sheng’s bedroom seemed to make him nervous, as he clenched one hand into a tiny fist while the other appeared to be held by someone.
Everyone collectively held their breath for a moment—who was holding Chenchen’s hand?
Lin Fangling’s trembling grew worse, yet no one noticed. The next moment, the crowd saw Lin Fangling appear in the frame.
One hand gripping Shi Luochen’s hand, the other clutching a fruit knife. This fruit knife was exactly the one currently lying on the carpet in the room!
—The Shi Family members were stunned.
Shi Chengyun’s eyes bulged as wide as bronze bells. Even Shi Erya’s gaze darted open in disbelief, her face an expression of utter shock.
Only Lu Sheng seemed unsurprised, as if she’d seen this coming. Her expression remained calm, she merely lowered her gaze and turned up the phone’s volume slightly.
The video continued, showing silvery moonlight spilling into the room as Lin Fangling led Shi Luochen to the bedside.
She first forcefully nudged the sleeping Lu Sheng, seemingly testing if she was in a deep sleep.
When Lu Sheng didn’t stir, Lin Fangling appeared satisfied. She then crouched down before Shi Luochen, patting him gently on the head.
"Chenchen, Mommy said we’re here to find the Demon—the Demon is right here."
"Look, this is the sister who just arrived at the house today. Chenchen really likes her, doesn’t he?"
"Mommy’s telling you now, Chenchen—there’s also a Demon hiding inside Sister’s body. If this Demon doesn’t leave soon, Sister might get killed by the Demon."
Lin Fangling asked, "Chenchen, do you want Sister to die? Do you want to help her out?"
In the footage, Chenchen glanced at the sleeping Lu Sheng on the bed, then at his mother, first shaking his head, then nodding.
Indeed, it’s easy to deceive a foolish child.
Seeing Shi Luochen alternately shake and nod his head, Lin Fangling’s expression brightened with satisfaction. In the next moment, she put the fruit knife into Shi Luochen’s hand.
"Since Chenchen doesn’t want Sister to die and wants to help her, then follow Mommy’s instructions, okay?"
Lin Fangling glanced at the clock on the wall, estimating the time needed for her to return to the third-floor bedroom.
She planned to use this time gap to ensure she wasn’t at the scene.
"Chenchen, do you see that clock over there? When the shorter hand and the longer hand both point to 12, Chenchen needs to hold the knife tightly with both hands and stab it into this spot on Sister."
Lin Fangling pointed to Lu Sheng’s heart area, as if afraid he wouldn’t remember, patiently repeating the instruction once more.
"Chenchen, do you remember now? Stab the knife forcefully into this spot. This way, the Demon will leave Sister’s body."